Augustine of Hippo, the Confessions bk. 7-9 - Introduction to Philosophy

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In this lecture/discussion session from my Fall 2013 Introduction to Philosophy class, we continue our examination of Augustine's Confessions, focusing in particular upon the topics in books 7-8 (and a bit of 9. . . hoped to get to 10, but alas, no). In book 7, we look at Augustine's discussion of the origin and nature of evil, and at the consonances he discovered between Neo-Platonic philosophy and Christian scriptures. We also look, particularly in book 8, at his understanding of the Will, in light of Augustine's crisis in the garden

[@GregoryBSadler]

I'm often envious of literature, history, and political science profs -- they get to teach so many of the texts I'd love to teach, but don't get to in Philosophy

[@GregoryBSadler]

next lecture from my Intro to Philosophy course -- right at the heart of Augustine's Confessions and eventual conversion

[@KeithDavey2014]

This guy has the worst students. They never NEVER answer any of his questions. Its so clear they have not studied ANY of the material.

[@GregoryBSadler]

This particular class -- my videos are from a number of different class sections -- has their off days and their on days. This was a particularly bad one. They're FAR from the worst students I've had in my career, though

[@KeithDavey2014]

It really is amazing how little interest 21st century Americans (and for the most part Western Europeans) has in Philosophical studies. In particular the classics. The rapid success of America in the 20th century will meet an equally fast (or actually much faster) decline largely because we as a society no longer philosophically minded. It takes some fairly broad understanding to really grasp what our forefathers meant by freedom, and the idea of a free man. Today people just think being 'free' means they can do anything they want. *sigh*

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yeah. . . again, bad practice to generalize so much from one class

[@DualistofG4]

Thanks Greg for another superb video. From your other videos you have read quite a bit of important Christian theologians, and I must ask, are you yourself a Christian?

[@GregoryBSadler]

+DualistofG4 I am, but not a particularly good one. Even if I wasn't though, one can't be a good historian of ideas without reading and appreciating a great many Christian thinkers

[@FirstnameLastname-jz1ux]

I know this is a bit late but thanks for uploading this. I need to write an essay on Confessions for an online world lit course and the material and the philosophy are very interesting but the book itself is quite a slog to me. Great lecture.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome

[@kseniya1982]

awesome! just read it in my World Literature class.

[@KushKussh]

Love Proverbs, Eclesiastes and Psalms my top three favorites off the top head. Thanks for your work!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I'm big on the Wisdom literature myself

[@shamamta]

Thank you Dr. Sadler for sharing your course with the public.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome!

[@lachlantyde1684]

Thanks Gregory. At least one person as far afield as Australia loves and appreciates your lectures. They've proven invaluable for me and I'm sure many others. Keep up the great work.

[@GregoryBSadler]

I will -- and you're very welcome!

[@blankname5177]

❤

[@SarahAnne8484]

Great lecture series on Augustine's Confessions! It helped me better understand this book for my Literature class. Thanks!

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Sarah Gable You're very welcome!

[@pattiharrison1211]

Thank you for this lesson. Your students are very quiet ❤️

[@GregoryBSadler]

Sometimes that was the case. All of those students are long since out of college, given that this was years ago

[@scottgoatsprite4342]

Thank you for these lectures. I enjoyed them immensely.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome. Glad you enjoy them